


eyes that see

by shiningjedi



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 15:15:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14059704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shiningjedi/pseuds/shiningjedi
Summary: Plo has the most precious of treasures entrusted to him - a youngling - but encounters a blip on the way back home from Shili.





	eyes that see

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Perspicacia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perspicacia/gifts).



> prompt: "Is it different for a non human to be a Jedi, a figure of authority, in a galaxy so human centric?"

The spaceport guard who stopped them from taking off after their rest stop on the to Coruscant from Shili was a testy-looking, pale-haired human who was somehow managing to look down his nose at Plo despite being several inches the shorter.

If he hadn’t had an orphaned toddler in his arms, peaceful and happily asleep, he would, in fact, have taken the time to be impressed; as it was, however, he merely greeted him politely and inquired as to the matter, with just the slightest undercurrent of warning in his voice.

Plo sighed internally. _Human-dominated planet. Of course._ He wished Ahsoka didn’t have to witness this, whether she understood it or no, before she even came home to the Temple, but that was the way of the Galaxy, unfortunately.

It was the Jedi Order’s role to promote peace, justice and understanding - to try and _end_ that way - but reacting with anger would not help, as much as it might have been momentarily satisfying. And, of course, he had a child in his arms - a child that, technically, he was legally responsible for until she was brought safely to the Temple, and that, with nothing technical about it, he would give his life to protect in an instant - although, admittedly, he would with any child.

“Sir,” went on the guard, “our security procedures rely on retina scanning, so you’re going to need to take off … _those_.” He glanced uncomfortably at his goggles, and his stern frown broadened.

“That would be manslaughter,” Plo said coolly, “seeing as I need them to survive, and one of my colleagues would have to arrest and charge you.”

He looked more uncomfortable, now. “One of your colleagues?” Ahsoka squirmed, waking, and gripped his tunics tighter - there was a stranger there, and she didn’t like the way he _felt_ , like squished-up rotten vegetables. Master Plo was carefully shifting so that she was sitting in one of his arms, and he was free to take something from his belt with the other - a little tube of metal that sounded like it was singing.

“I hope this is identification enough?” he said. He sounded very calm, but he felt just a little bit upset, and Ahsoka looked from one to the other, confused, and then she frowned, baring her teeth from her safe perch tucked against his chest. she couldn’t understand why the man had upset Master Plo, but she _liked_ Master Plo, and anybody who made him unhappy she most definitely _didn’t_.

The stranger stepped aside, looking scared, and she yawned and fell back to sleep.

 

The trip back to Coruscant was uneventful, which Plo was grateful for - between this and a baby Togruta, not to mention the adventures - or “misadventures,” more properly, on the road to acquiring her, he could admit to himself he was looking forward to getting back home and resting.

Enough, in fact, that, still cradling Ahsoka in his arms, rocking her gently, he instructed his astromech to pilot them back, leaned back in the pilot’s seat of the small diplomatic craft, and let his palpebral membranes slide shut under his goggles.

Just before he drifted to sleep, however, a minor shockwave in the Force sent a realization jolting through him that flashed him fully awake in half a second, still reeling from the strength of the unexpected epiphany.

 _This_ was why he was a Jedi - to keep this child safe for as long as he could. This was his great destiny, Master Plo of the Jedi High Council, merely watching the back of a single youngling until she went beyond his sight, or he beyond hers. The Force, he decided, could have bestowed no greater honor.

Perhaps sensing the warmth curling from him like the gathering-fires of her homeworld, Ahsoka climbed higher in his arms and, very gently, patted his mask. “I like it,” she said, and it tilted upwards as he gave his best approximation of a smile.

“Thank you, young one,” he rumbled, and she giggled as it vibrated against her palm.


End file.
